Fairy Summer
by Midnight1234
Summary: After the events of Father earlier in the year, Natsu now lives with his god-family which just so happens to be the Heartifllia's. Now that school is coming to a close, things seem to be all nice and dandy for Natsu, but suddenly that changes. He now has to spend the summer trying to stay away from Father's just as worse brother whose trying to win custody of him. Who will win?
1. Chapter One- The Falrows

**Hiya! Yay! The sequel is finally out! Now, if you are new and haven't read the first one, then you should probably go right on to Fairy High-Fire Pain because your confusion will lessen after reading that, then you can come back and read this! Also, the story won't be really as happy as this one; it will have its ups and downs like the last won, sometimes will be funny, light, and happy or will be sad, depressing, and sad. Depends. I have prolonged you lovely reader quiet long enough and will now let you read the sequel you have been waiting so long for! Almost a month! Please leave a Review and Favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-Let there be midnight**

**Me No Own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Chapter One— The Falrows **

"Order up!" Natsu shouted from within the kitchens, head appearing before a little window-like cut in the wall as he handed a waitress a plate of food. The brown haired waitress smiled at the pinkette and thanked him, scurrying off to give the plate of food to a business man who typed busily on his computer.

Turning back around, Natsu glanced at the clock that hung on the wall behind him seeing that his shift was over, untying his apron and setting it up on a rack, grabbing his bag as he did so and slinging it across his shoulders.

"Leaving already?" asked one of the other cooks as they flipped over a hamburger, seeing out of the corner of his eyes that Natsu was headed for the exit.

"Yup! Promised Mrs. Heartifllia I would be home to help her set the table for some guest we're having over tonight." Natsu said, waving goodbye to the cook who waved the spatula in his hand in turn.

"Alright, but be careful on your way home, it's already getting dark." the older man warned as Natsu was halfway out of the door's exit.

"I know, I know. See ya' tomorrow Carl!" And with that he left, the heavy metal door shutting loudly behind him.

Natsu soon melted into the crowd of people that were just getting out of work or whatever they were originally doing, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his shorts. And yes, Natsu was wearing shorts for what seemed the first time in his life along with a short sleeved shirt. He was only able to wear these garments since it has been half a year since the death of Father.

A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of him, some memories of the abuse he had went through coming to surface in his mind, but he pushed them down forcibly, not wanting to think about them.

After Father had died, Natsu was soon put into custody of his godparents, which happens to be Lucy's parents. Lucy's mother, Layla Heartifllia, was a childhood friend of Natsu's mother, Josie Dragneel, when she was alive. And when they both had children, they made the other the godparent of their child.

When Natsu had first moved in with them, he had been a little awkward and shy, not used to the liveliness of the house and overall happiness that filled it. The good thing though was the fact that he made Lucy swear not to tell her parents about what Father did, the girl being quiet hesitant at first and defiant, but Natsu was able to wear her down to the point where he could get her to promise not to tell them. At first though, Natsu was sure his secret was going to make itself known to the adults since he had to wear long sleeved shirts and pants to hide his fading wounds and he had constant nightmares and was jumpy, making the Heartifllia parent's suspiciously worried on what was wrong with him, but the nightmares soon calmed down to the point where Natsu was getting them less frequently and becoming far less jumpy, giving his godparents relief that he had gotten better.

It wasn't long until Natsu reached his new house which was way better than his old one. It was two stories tall with white paint and a little flower garden in front of the porch, a little neat path leading up to the two stairs and a large oak tree shadowing the porch. The house didn't necessarily have a garage so the Heartifllia's had to park out front on the street.

Sitting on the bench-swing under the shade of the oak on the porch was Lucy reading a text from a friend of hers, swinging softly back and forth.

"Lucy!" Natsu said happily as he jogged up the rest of the way, Lucy looking up from her phone to watch as Natsu ran up the four steps to the porch.

"Back already?" she asked curiously. "I didn't think you'd be back till six." she said truthfully. Natsu gave her a little shrug as she continued to swing softly, phone in her hand.

"Mrs. Heartifllia asked me to help her set the table for the Falrows who are coming over for dinner to discuss some business with your dad." he told her. Lucy leaned backward, setting her phone beside her as she used one foot to swing back and forth without it leaving the ground.

"It's tonight? I thought it was tomorrow night?" she said in boredom, her phone vibrating with a new text though she ignored it for now.

"Nope, it's tonight. And Mrs. Heartifllia asked me to help her, and I will do so." he gave Lucy a small salute before he walked on in the house and to where his new room was, dumping his bag against the wall and giving it a quick look to make sure everything was in place.

It was different from his old one and looked a lot better too. The walls were a clean white with cream curtains hanging loosely and barely touching the carpet. His bed was a new one with dark oak and bright orange sheets above clean white ones, and a desk sat directly in front of it, barely cluttered with papers and a lamp, a pencil cup knocked over, the spilled contents making the desk messier. Beside the desk was a small oak dresser with a clean mirror above it that had half of the bed present in it. Right in the middle of Natsu's bed was a small blue cat with a green collar and bell, sleeping happily. Natsu smiled a little as he saw Happy, eyes lingering on him for a few moments before he shut the door behind him softly and made his way to the kitchen where he found Mrs. Heartifllia cooking, strands of hair falling into her face from her quickly made up bun, and the front of her apron covered in flour and other stuff, some flour even making its way to her cheeks and nose.

She looked up at Natsu's entrance, smiling as she pushed a strand of hair away from her face.

"Ah, just the man I wanted to see!" she said brightly, Natsu giving her a slight smile. Mrs. Heartifllia wiped her hands off on her apron, moving to a cabinet taking out fancy plates as she did so. "Set this on the table and when you get back everything will be on the table," she pointed to the little round table with four chairs in the kitchen. "and I'll leave the rest to you." she gave him another toothy smile as she handed him the flower designed plates, moving back to the cabinet to take other stuff out. Natsu gave a polite nod before she did so and turned around to go the dining room which was connected to the kitchen by an archway.

Soon the table was all set and the food was ready, everyone now wearing their Sunday best as they waited for the guests to arrive.

Natsu and Lucy were both sitting on the couch bored out of their minds, Lucy fiddling with the edge of her mid-thigh length light pink spaghetti strapped dress while Natsu made sure that he didn't mess up buttoning his white dress shirt like he tended to do, finding the mistake and buttoning it up again. Right as Natsu just finished making sure the buttons were right on his shirt, the doorbell rang, Mrs. Heartifllia rushing into the room still putting on her dangly diamond earrings. She was wearing a navy blue knee length dress with sleeves that stopped just at her elbows and her hair was in ringlets, ending just below her shoulders. Mr. Heartifllia came from behind her, wearing a similar outfit to Natsu's consisting of a white button down dress shirt and black slacks. He went to answer the door when he gave his wife a quick peck on the lips and a smile to the children, Mrs. Heartifllia standing up straight as she ushered them to the front entre way.

"Stand up straight and be the nice gentleman and lady you are." she ordered when they reached the entre way, straightening a messy strand of hair on Natsu before she stood beside her daughter smiling pleasantly. When her husband saw that they were ready, he opened the door and let the guest in.

Mr. Falrow was a short but large looking guy, not in weight but more in muscle… well the weight could contribute to his large size, with a buzz cut head and small beady blue eyes. He had a long white scar on his eyebrow and a stubbly looking chin. His wife was quite the opposite. She was taller and slim, with a long face and nose and large muddy brown eyes with inky black naturally curly hair that reached her shoulders. The son of the two was a mix of them. He was tall but wide like his father but had natural head of black curly hair, some of the curls reaching the top of his beady blue eyes. He had a long nose like his mother but a round-like face like his father.

"Hello, Jude." Mr. Falrow greeted in a rough voice, shaking Mr. Heartifllia's hand. "May I introduce you my wife Helena and my son Tom?" the two gave a respective nod and a hand shake to the family. Mr. Heartifllia gave a warm smile to the family as he introduced his.

"This is my wife Layla, my daughter Lucy, and my godson Natsu." he said. When Natsu went to shake Mr. Falrow's hand, he couldn't help but stiffen as a familiar feeling washed through him. Even though Mr. Falrow gave him a kind smile, he couldn't help but stare a little shocked into the beady man's eyes as he took his hand away to shake Lucy's. Natsu couldn't help but feel something stir in the pit of his stomach as if an old memory was about to stir, one where he tried to keep down ever since Father died.

He shook himself lightly, plastering his smile back on his face. He felt silly for feeling the way he did.


	2. Chapter Two- Familiar

**Hiya! He… he… he I sorreh…. Took a month and some odd days to update this… It took that long because I had slight writer's block and I was focusing on a competition I had today. I got 2****nd**** place in both of them so that made me happy and decided it was time to make you guys happy and finally update! I might not update this for another long while because I'm once again busy but I remain hopeful! Please enjoy this chapter and I'm once again sorry for the lateness! Please leave a Review and Favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-Let there be midnight**

**Me No Own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Chapter Two— Familiar**

When the dishes had been cleared from the table, the four adults kept on talking about things no one but them could really understand, shooing the three teens into the living room where they awkwardly sat there staring at each other or anything else in the room.

"So Tom…" Lucy started awkwardly, forcing a grin onto her face. "How old are you?" she asked as she did her best to ignore the annoying drumming of Natsu's fingers against the end table beside the couch.

"Twelve." he replied surprising both Lucy and Natsu as they stared at each other with wide eyes, the pinkette's drumming coming to a stop.

"Y-you're twelve?" Natsu squeaked out in shock, Tom nodding his head in affirmation. "I-I though you would be seventeen or something… Wow. Is it by chance the cream you use?" Natsu asked, Tom shaking his head as Lucy looked at him weirdly.

"Why would he use cream?" she asked. "And if anything, cream would make him look younger, not older." Natsu shrugged in responds, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning backwards on the couch.

"I'm not a cream expert or anything, but sometimes labels can lie and make you look like a granny." he commented, Tom laughing a little. Lucy tried to explain to him that cream was targeted to make you younger and not older, but Natsu wouldn't listen to a word she was saying. Finally Lucy got frustrated to the point where she crossed her arms and slumped downwards on the couch as she refused to look at either males who just watched on in amusement, Natsu even laughing a little.

"I'll see you at work Monday, Jude." Mr. Fallow's voice piped up, catching the three's attention as they looked up to see the four adults walking into the living room, Mr. Falrow and Heartifllia shaking hands with a joyful smile present on their faces. Their wives continued on talking to the other, not paying mind that they were supposed to say goodbye, but everyone ignored them for now.

"Yes, I'll see you Monday." Mr. Heartifllia affirmed as he took a step back. Mr. Falrow looked towards the children sitting comfortably in the living room and for some reason Natsu suddenly knew why he felt strange when he first met Mr. Falrow because it wasn't his first time meeting him.

A small memory floated to the front of Natsu's mind, one where he was six standing next to his father. He was dressed very much in the same way as he was now but his hair was slightly damp from having just taken a shower so the usual spikes in his hair weren't present just yet. Father stood beside him as intimidating as ever, a fake small well played upon his lips. A younger Mr. Falrow stepped inside the crudely clean house (curtsey of Natsu himself) but was dressed in a brown business suit, dark blue tie, and held an old leather brief case in hand. He had a little more hair in the memory with a fat mustache, skinner than what he is now.

"_I'm so glad you can work on my case, Mr. Falrow." _Father's voice echoed in his head.

"_Well, that's what a lawyer is for." _

Just as fast as the memory surfaced, it was gone and Mr. Falrow was ushering his son up from the couch with a call of his name, Tom doing as he was told obediently. Natsu blinked owlishly as he tried to will away the wisp of the memory, as he stood up behind Lucy.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Helena; I hope we can talk over lunch sometime?" Mrs. Heartifllia mused, bringing Natsu fully back and able to push away the memory.

"Yes, that would be quiet nice. I'll call you when I am next available, I'm quite busy as it is with work." was Mrs. Falrows reply before she and her son were taken away with Mr. Falrow who waved a goodbye to Mr. Heartifllia. Once they had left, Natsu quickly slipped out of the room unnoticed and made his quiet trek upstairs to where his bedroom was and the comfort of an abnormally blue cat waited for him.

He didn't know why the memory upset him so, but it did. It caused his stomach turn uneasily and his face to flush as he recalled the memory once more, slipping into his room and closing the door behind him softly as he went to where Happy still slept on the bed and started to softly pet him, the bed dipping under his wet.

He didn't know how much longer it was until his eyelids started to droop and he layed next to the blue cat that had started softly purring not long ago, but soon he had fallen asleep with images that assaulted his mind, none that he could remember when he awoke the next day.

He was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal as Happy groomed himself in the sunlight that fell onto the kitchen floor when Lucy came into the room and plopped herself in the seat across from Natsu. She was already dressed for the day unlike him, wearing a yellow tank top and white skirt with her hair up in a ponytail being held by a white ponytail holder. She exhaled heavily as Natsu looked at her as he shoved a spoonful of Caption Crunch into his mouth.

"Hey," he said shortly when Lucy said nothing.

"Hey," she replied.

"What's up?" he asked when he noticed she wasn't going to say more than the simple greeting.

"Just got off the phone with Erza." she said, Natsu motioning for her to tell him more as he shoveled another spoonful of the cereal into his mouth. "She invited us to go to the lake with her, her parents and Gray." Lucy finished as she leaned back into her chair.

"Oh, well, I'm not going." Natsu said calmly as he finished the last of his cereal and started to drink the left over milk straight from the bowl. Lucy jerked forward onto the table, surprise glittering in her brown eyes.

"Why not? It's summer, you're supposed to let down your hair and all that! And if we go, we can teach you how to swim because, you know, you said you couldn't and all so this can be the perfect opportunity to teach you!" she complained. Natsu shrugged as he stood up and walked to the kitchen sink, setting his bowl in it and filling it with water as he turned around, ready to exit the room.

"Whenever I'm around water, bad things happen." he told her as he walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, turning the TV on to cartoons. Lucy was quick to follow, standing next to the couch and crossing her arms.

"Name one time something went wrong with you and water." she challenged, thinking that she won. Natsu raised his eyebrow at her as he looked to a blonde with a facial expression that said 'really?' before he sighed and looked back at the show he was watching.

"School field trip to the beach. Didn't happen that long ago, you were there. It almost ruined our friendship, and I'm pretty sure Midnight and Zancrow almost died by your guy's hands." Natsu pointed out in a dull voice, wanting this conversation to be over with. Lucy stuck out her cheek in annoyance as she shifted her weight on one leg.

"Alright, that was one time and one time only." Lucy said. Natsu looked at her once more with a small smirk of amusement on his face.

"Once when I was five, Father got so angry at me for breaking a picture of my mother by accident that he almost drowned me in the bathtub. When I was seven, Father was forced to bring me to a company outing at a pool. I was running to grab something that Father requested, slipped on a puddle of water and fell into the pool. When I was ten Father tried to once again drown me in the tub for punishment. When I was twelve—" He was quickly cut off by Lucy who started to wave her arms frantically in front of her, wanting him to stop.

"Alright, alright! I get it! You almost drown every time you even look at water! Alright! But maybe since _he_," She never liked to recognize Natsu's father as his father and rather as just a '_he_', _'him_', or '_his_'. "is not here now. So maybe you have a better chance with water!" Lucy said, sitting down on the couch next to him with pleading eyes. "And if water still tries its never ending goal of killing you, then I'll never again ask you to come with me the pool or any body of water, ever." Lucy promised. Natsu rolled his eyes as he focused in on the TV, slightly amused and irritated by this conversation.

"Alright, I'll go. But the moment the water tries to kill me, I'm out and that's it." he warned. Lucy jumped up in excitement as she squealed a little, running out of the room yelling: "Great! I'll tell Erza!" Natsu just turned the volume on the TV louder when Mr. Heartifllia walked into the room and looked back where his daughter ran out with a confused expression. Natsu shrugged at the man, not even looking at him.

"You don't want to know, trust me."


	3. Chapter Three- Nightmares Unwanted

**Hiya! Two months this time to finish this somewhat short chapter. But I have a somewhat good excuse! I was in Mehico visiting me dad up until today! And now school starts Thursday which I really don't want and I'll stop here before I say anything else. Please enjoy my short chapter after the two month update period, and I'll try to update faster with my other loads of stories and school! Please send help… Please leave a Review and Favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-Let there be midnight**

**Me No Own Fairy Tail**

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**Chapter Three— Nightmares Unwanted**

He was young. He was five. And he was scared. Daddy loomed over him like a tower full of rage and anger. And there was nowhere to go. He was cornered by Daddy who loomed above him with his liquor oozing breath, stubbly chin, dark circle eyes, and a business suit with a small tear in the seam on the left shoulder that was barely noticeable, especially in the dim lit room, the only source of light being the flickering of the television as a comedy played softly, the noise of the television laughter being drowned out by the fear roaring at his ears, clawing at his chest and tearing his insides to pieces as Daddy seemed to close in on him, the smell of liquor almost unbearable on his short angered breath.

He didn't understand a word coming from Daddy's mouth, but he saw the words forming viciously as spit flew onto his cheek. He couldn't even whimper as Daddy reached down with his huge burly hand and gripped his pink locks he remembered Mommy telling him how pretty they were and reminded her of how the sky turned pink on a summer's sunset, but they felt dirty with Daddy's hand in them, and they _hurt _as he gripped them too harshly and pulled him up by it, carrying him by the hair to the bathroom Daddy was about to bathe in earlier before he had tripped and broke a picture of Mommy that was sitting on the small end table out in the hall. He stared wide eyed as Daddy threw him into the room and slammed the door shut behind him, locking it before he made his way towards him, grabbing him once more by the hair and shoving his face into the heated bath water, not even letting him take a breath of air.

Natsu gasped awake, barely able to feel the cool pane glass window touching his forehead and the car air-conditioner blowing softly onto him or the lively chatter of Erza and Lucy in the way back of the car along with Mrs. and Mr. Scarlet in the front with the soft hum of the radio. No one took notice of Natsu sitting up straight or that he had waken up from his short nap, not even Gray, who was next to him looking out the car window, took notice.

Slowly, Natsu started to get his bearings and his heart slowed down in his chest and he lent his head against the cool glass window once more and began to look at the scenery rushing past without actually looking.

_I thought I've gotten better on the nightmares… _he thought, his eyebrows barely furrowing together. He thought he had gotten better but it seems like he hasn't. Now'n'days nightmares of his past before living with the Heartifllia's consisted of barely a glance or a scene, maybe a small smell or feeling and thought or he wouldn't remember them at all. Maybe once or twice a month he would get ones like these and he never liked them since he would wake up in a cold sweat, huffing and panting with a worried Happy at his side, pawing and meowing as if asking if everything was fine.

"We're here!" Mr. Scarlet said happily as they pulled into the long stretched driveway of their lake house, jarring Natsu out of his thoughts as he started to actually look out the window and out at the scenery.

Trees lined the cobblestone pathway, another house just visible through the line of trees on the left and right before more obscured the view.

The house was Victorian style with a light bluish tint to the exterior and a porch with white chipping paint and a light grey roof. The shudders of the windows were closed and weeds were overgrown in the garden since the last time the Scarlet's had been there was last summer.

Before anyone could even think of stepping out of the car Mrs. Scarlet turned around in her seat to look at them with a kind smile.

"Alright, now rooming arrangements are going to be pretty obvious since there are two boys and two girls, so it doesn't take much brain power to figure out who's rooming with whom, but girls will go in the pink room and boys in the green room, okay?" when she got nods from all of them she gave them another sweet smile and they all piled on out of the car and each grabbed their own bags (Erza grabbing her mountain of luggage) and heading on into the house.

Natsu was the first to reach the green room before Gray, who was helping Mr. Scarlet with the rest of the things, so he quickly chose the bed closest to the window and got a good look of the room.

The room was simple and small with two small beds with iron for head boards and covered in a simple light green blanket along with a small blue and yellow blanket folded up at the end of each bed neatly. The pillows were white and looked to be freshly clean, each with a small knitted green flower in the left corner. The walls were the same green as the sheets (hint as to why the room was called the "green room") and a dark wooden oak dresser was on the wall facing the beds. A simple window was placed between the beds and another beside Natsu's, both with lime green curtains drawn closed.

Not long after Natsu had walked into the room did Gray join him, dropping his backpack on his bed with a huff of air.

"Erza wants to go swimming A.S.A.P." he told the pinkette lying lazily on his own bed. Natsu moved his dark eyes to Gray without moving his head, watching as the other teen unzipped his backpack and started to search for his blue swim trunks.

"But we just got here." he protested, Gray giving him a raised eyebrow as he found his swimsuit and started to pull it out.

"And you're telling me why? I'm not the one wanting everyone to go swimming here, the one you're wanting is down the hall, but I'd suggest not walking in since you'd get punch into another millennia." he scoffed in slight amusement as he started to get changed. Natsu groaned loudly, closing his eyes as he turned onto his stomach, burying his head within his pillow and letting out a few more loud muffled groans at his displeasure. "Oy, you better hurry up before Erza comes in here to get you changed herself." Gray warned, throwing a pillow at Natsu's head to get his attention. Natsu lifted his head barely from his own pillow to give Gray a small glare before he rolled out of bed purposely with a loud thump and Mrs. Scarlet's muffled voice from downstairs asking if everything was alright.

Without getting up, Natsu dragged his backpack closer to him and unzipped it with one hand, pulling out a pair of flaming red swim trunks Lucy had picked out herself when she had went to the mall with Juvia and Levy.

Gray watched in amusement and a raised eyebrow as Natsu then proceeded to get dressed while still lying on the floor, barely containing a chuckle. Once he was done Natsu then turned to give Gray another glare of defiance as he kicked his pile of clothing to the end of his bed, Erza slamming the door open right then and there with her black bikini.

"You guys dressed?" she asked as she looked around the room, then to Gray with a confused look. "Where's Natsu?" a loud groan from in-between the two beds was heard, both walking over to Gray's bed and peering over the other side where Natsu had once again turned onto his stomach and smashed his face against the floor. Both blinked.


	4. Chapter Four- Cold Waters

**Hiya! Okay, I actually spent a few days on this chapter cause I was literally stuck on what to write, I'm just really happy I managed to finish it even if it is short! I spent a total of a week on it… *sigh* Anyway, please read and enjoy! Please leave a Review and Favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-Let there be midnight**

**Me No Own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Chapter Four— Cold Waters**

The water mocked him with its clear lapping waters that just seemed to say "Ha! I'm gonna drown you if you even _try _to take a step in me!" and he did believe that the water would do just that, making him dread what was soon to come even more than before.

"Well, first to swim you have to get in the water; you do know that… right?" Gray asked just as mockingly as the water next to him, a smirk on his face as he looked down at him. Natsu shot him a quick glare as he looked back down at the water with hatred in him that he was sure was coming off of him in waves.

"I know that. I'm not an idiot." he murmured the last part, poking the water with his big toe, making small ripples form on the surface, taking his foot back as fast as he could as if he was afraid with that small contact the water would try to swallow him whole.

"Well?" Gray urged gesturing to the water with fake impatience. Natsu grumbled under his breath but otherwise did not move. "Go on, I'm waiting." Gray had crossed his arms over his bare chest, that damn smug smile spreading on his stupid face.

"Shut up." Natsu muttered before he made up his mind and walked into the water till he was submerged to his chest. Gray had followed him in while Lucy and Erza (who were already swimming) swam up to Natsu so they could also help out.

"First we'll let you hang off on us so you can just get the motions with your feet." Erza said as she smiled at Natsu in a somewhat reassuring way, the keyword being: somewhat.

"And you promise if water tries it's vengeance on me then you guys won't push me to swim ever again?" he asked, looking up at them as he crossed his arms. All three of his friends nodded making him sigh slightly. "I'm ready to die now."

…

… The outcome didn't turn out as planned.

…

In the end when they got Natsu out to deeper waters, something had caught onto his ankle making him panic and almost drown.

Almost.

And keeping to their word Erza, Gray, and Lucy didn't hound Natsu to swim but allowed him to just sit on the dock silently, kicking his feet back and forth over the edge, never letting the water touch him as he dozed off into his own world.

After a while Natsu laid on his back with his feet still kicking back and forth without hitting the water once, looking up at the clear sky that was barely littered with white fluffy clouds. The shouts of Lucy, Gray, and Erza dying off into the background as he slowly felt his eyelids flutter closed and before he knew it, he was asleep.

He dreamt of when he was three, almost four, the first memory he had which was with his mother. Father was gone somewhere leaving Natsu alone with his mother. He saw Mother standing in front of him with her beautiful smile as she held out her arms and hugged him before throwing him up barely in the air and catching him again.

It was a short dream since it lasted the length of the memory, but it was a sweet one, one that left Natsu feeling light as he was awoken with a splash of slightly cold water on his face. He spluttered awake and fell into the lake out of surprise, nearly drowning himself for the second time that day as he forgot that he could stand up, and when he had finally stood up he quickly jumped back onto the dock and hissed like a feral cat towards Gray who couldn't keep in his laughter.

"You—should've—seen the—look—on your face!" he wheezed out in between laughter, holding onto his stomach as tears started to stream down his face.

"Fuck off Gray." Natsu hissed, crossing his arms as he sat crossed legged on the dock, wet hair drooping into his eyes and making the effect of his death glare seem not so deadly. Erza and Lucy swam next to Gray, both stifling their laughter behind hands and making it so obvious to Natsu that all they wanted to do was burst out laughing. "Oh, laugh all you want, get it out of your systems. I'm not as cruel as to let you three die before you're beheaded." he said with a roll of his eyes, Lucy and Erza doing just that and not paying heed to the last part of what Natsu had said.

After a few minutes of uncontrollable laughter from the three and unamused glares from the pink haired teen, Gray, Lucy, and Erza finally managed to calm down enough to breath properly without dying from laughter.

"Good," Natsu started as he stood up calmly. "Now if you please get out of the water so I can proceed with beheading you, that would be nice." he started to walk in the direction of land, his friends watching him with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Oh, like a hot head like you could." Gray remarked as he floated on his back and closed his eyes to the soft lapping of waves around his body, which was a fatal mistake on Gray's part as Natsu had found a stone and threw it towards Gray, the large round rock landing directly on Gray's chest making him call out in surprise as he was suddenly submerged in water. He poked his head above the water, spitting it out of his mouth like a fountain as he glared at Natsu. "Ha ha ha, real funny Natsu. Real funny." He rubbed the sore spot on his chest where Natsu threw the rock at him and swam a safe distance away just as Mrs. Scarlet poked her head out the back screen window, her head small from where they were and was mostly made up of scarlet hair.

"Dinner!" she shouted, going back into the house. Natsu was a bit surprised that it was already dinner time, looking up at the sky to see that the sun was setting.

Natsu looked back behind him to see Lucy, Erza, and Gray getting out of the water and drying themselves, deciding that they were talking a long time, so he decided to head up to the house alone. When he walked into the house the first thing Mrs. Scarlet said was to get dressed (he was still in his swim trunks) before dinner without looking at him and pointing upstairs.

When Natsu reached the room he and Gray shared the first thing he did instead of getting dressed was look at his phone to see that he had eight missed calls.

"Wow, seems like I'm popular." Natsu joked sarcastically with a small smile, putting his phone on his bed and grabbing a random shirt, but right as he pulled the shirt over his head his phone started to ring. Natsu picked it up without a thought and didn't even looked at the caller ID as he began to start putting his shorts on.

"Hmm, hello?" he asked as he buttoned up his pants and sat on the edge of his bed.

"_Ah, Natsu, it's so nice to hear your voice again. How are you?"_ Natsu froze and his eyes went wide, breath stopping in his throat as his blood went cold.


	5. Chapter Five- So Very Wrong

**Hiya! Yay! New update! My computer was down for a week so that's somewhat of an excuse? Not really? Just gonna hand it to yeah as I give you this sad depressing chapter and hope you like it and not want to kill me because if you kill me then there will really never be an update and you don't want that… Please don't kill me… I like to live… And you like this story, right? I feel like I'm rambling because I'm a bit tired so I'll stop. Anyway, please read and enjoy! Please leave a Review and Favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-Let there be midnight**

**Me No Own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Chapter Five— So Very Wrong**

_**"Ah, Natsu, it's so nice to hear your voice again. How are you**__**?"**_ _**Natsu froze and his eyes went wide, breath stopping in his throat as his blood went cold. **_

Natsu suddenly couldn't breathe. It was like all the air in his body just vanished. Just like that. As if he had been punched in the gut by life. And at the moment, it felt just like that. When you just stood up, life seems to knock you down all over again.

"_Hmm? Natsu?"_ the voice he never wanted to hear over the phone in his whole life brought him back down to earth. His shoulders went stiff as he sat rigidly on the side of the bed, closing his eyes as he tried to breathe. _Breathe Natsu. __**Just breathe**__. Breathe._ He kept repeating in his head over and over again to steady his rapidly beating heart.

"Uncle." Natsu said forcing his voice to be calm as the steady grow of panicked thoughts ran around his mind in a jumble.

"_Now, now Natsu, why don't you try that in a nicer tone voice? Huh?"_ Natsu could _**feel**_the cold annoying-as-fuck smirk over the phone and all he wanted to do was run. Run and never look back. No matter what. He didn't care where he would run. He would just run until nothing else would matter anymore. Until everything was okay. But nothing was really ever okay it seemed. Life seemed to be a survival game he just couldn't win. Well, guess what Life, fuck you too. _"Let's try this again, shall we? How are you?" _

"Why are you calling?" Natsu asked, forcing his voice not to waiver as he ignored Uncle's question. There was a slight sigh of irritation over the phone and a slight ruffling sound as if the man on the other side was running a hand through his hand or down his face.

"_Can't I talk to my little brother's son? I haven't seen you since you were six. And I just heard recently that said little brother died in a car accident. So what's the harm of calling up his son to see how he's doing?" _Natsu took a deep breath as his nerves were sent high on end and he could _**hear**_the thumping of his heart painfully in his eardrums.

"Father died months ago." Natsu said bluntly, wanting nothing more than to end the conversation or for Gray to enter so that would give him an excuse to hang up. "Why are you just calling?"

"_Yes, yes, he did die months ago, that is true." _Uncle hummed in thought, sounding contemplative. _"And may I ask you just this one question, who are you living with now?" _There was something in his voice that Natsu didn't like at all. Every instinct in Natsu's body was screaming for him to hang up, but something was holding him back from doing so, something that Natsu didn't quite understand.

"And why do you care?" He glanced towards the door, half hoping for Gray to enter and half hoping that he wouldn't.

"_Can't I just be worried for my only dear little nephew?" _he crowed, Natsu feeling a cold shiver running up and down his spine.

"It's none of your business." Natsu growled, trying desperately to stay calm, but his mind and body had other plans. Natsu rubbed his free hand's sweaty palm onto the bed sheets before he switched his phone to the other hand to do the same with the hand that was previously holding the phone since he started to feel it slipping from underneath his grasp.

"_I think I have a right to know since I'm your only living relative." _

"That's a lie and you know it. I still have an uncle on my mother's side who's still alive since the last time I checked, with _five living cousins_." Natsu practically hissed. There was a chilled laughter coming from the other end of the line, making Natsu's heart practically jump up into his throat.

"_Yes, but you know my dear nephew, __**they don't care at all**__—"_ Before Uncle could finish his sentence, Natsu hung up on him immediately, his nostrils flaring and his eyes wide, staring at his phone in complete anger. His chest was heaving from his harsh breathing and his vision turned red from rage and a mixture of fear and the next thing he knew, he had chucked his phone across the room making it hit the door with a loud _thunk! _and drop to the floor. Gray walked in right after the phone fell to the floor and looked wide eyed at the panicking Natsu was had just started to shake from the aftermath of the phone call.

"Natsu?" he asked cautiously, obviously not having the least idea on what was happening. He slipped into the room and closed the door silently behind him, walking over to his friend. "Hey, Natsu what's wrong?" Gray asked, snapping the pinkette out of his daze. Tears immediately sprang to Natsu's eyes and there was nothing either of them could've done to stop the tears running down his face. Natsu looked up at Gray with an expression of helplessness, fear, and frustration, trying to suppress a sob by how his lips were quivering and how he held them together by biting on them harshly.

"Natsu?" Gray asked again and that seemed to break the boy even more as a helpless sob escaped his lips and he basically crumpled over himself while he still sat on the bed. Gray immediately dropped to his knees and placed both hands on the pinkette's shoulders, looking down at his sobbing friend in concern. "What's wrong? What happened?" Natsu kept shaking his head at the questions, not wanting to answer them as another sob fell from his lips, and another, and another until he was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Why won't it end? Why won't it just _fucking _end?" Natsu whispered through sobs, confusing Gray even more. Hands went up to grip at the damp strands of pink hair and pulled as the sobs began to slightly get louder, Gray wondering if anyone else in the house could hear them and if they did, why were they not coming to see who was making them.

"Why won't what end?" Gray asked softly, giving him a slight squeeze in the shoulder for comfort. Natsu shook his head violently, not wanting to answer Gray at all. "Come on Natsu, you have to tell me." Gray urged on, but it was as useless as talking to a brick wall.

A knock came from the door, instantly calming Natsu's sobs as Mrs. Scarlet's voice was heard on the other side.

"Is everything okay in there?" her muffled voice asked on the other side, concern very evident in her soft spoken voice.

"Yeah, Natsu's just crying over a character in a book that had just died!" he called out the first thing that had come to mind.

"Oh, okay sweaty, just come down in ten minutes, okay?" she called out one more time and the sound of her footsteps retreating were heard. Gray sighed and turned back to Natsu who had seemed to calm down and stopped crying.

"You going to tell me what's up or bottle everything in and not tell a soul again?" he asked quietly. Natsu seemed hesitant to answer, but nodded his head as an answer. "Natsu!" Gray said tiredly as he ran a hand through his raven hair. "Why can't you tell us? What's so bad that you can't speak of it?" Gray asked as he stood up and started to strip into regular cloths and out of the wet cold swim trunks. He didn't really expect an answer from his pink haired friend, and it was clear Natsu was not about to give one.

Natsu kept his head hanging, his face out of sight as he stayed in his hunched over position on the side of the bed with his hands now clasped tightly in his lap.

_There are so many things I can never tell you. _He thought as he stood up without looking at Gray, and walked to where the bathroom was on the other side of the hallway, leaving Gray alone in their room. _So many things I'm not ready to say, and Uncle just has to be one of them. _He splashed cold water onto his face repeatedly and grasped the side of the sink tightly with his hands to look up at the mirror to see his red swollen eyes and red cheeks topped with a runny nose. Pink locks clung to his forehead and the sides of his face where the water had been splashed on him. Never before has Natsu seen himself look as pitiful as he did now with water dripping down his chin and into the still running sink. Not even when he was still with Father. He had thought life had finally decided to give him a break.

Apparently he was wrong.

So very wrong.


	6. Chapter Six- Worry And Being Evasive

**Hiya! I know it's been a while but my computer broke down because of hardware issues and all, and when I went to get it fixed they couldn't save my memory so I have to start anew! Not that great! Anyway, this chapter is going be somewhat light (maybe depends on how looked at), with a dash of depressed Natsu (maybe more than a dash) and a dash of wanting to help friends! Why do I make happy times in sad depressing stories when I know that there are going to be really depressing situations later on, I will never know! Thanks for those who reviewed, favorite, and followed! Please leave a review and favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-let there be midnight**

**Me No Own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Chapter Six—Worry And Being Evasive **

Natsu was quiet through the small lunch, though no one other than Gray really noticed, everyone thinking that he was maybe tired from the earlier events of the day, but Gray knew otherwise. Natsu kept his face down and didn't really eat anything on his plate, worrying him even more as bit his lip and replied to a comment Lucy said, making subtle glances at his quiet friend every once in a while.

Once lunch was over Natsu swiftly made his way to his room, no one noticing until Gray looked around for the pinkette to see him missing. He sighed a little under his breath, muttering words that only he knew to himself, catching both Lucy's and Erza's attention as they looked at him weirdly.

"Something wrong?" Lucy asked as she brushed her fingers through her blonde hair and into a rough ponytail, pushing a strand that was too short to be held back behind her ear. Gray sucked a little on his bottom lip, pondering if he should tell the two girls, but knowing that they knew about Natsu's past gave him his answer so he looked around for Erza's parents to see them chattering lively in the kitchen, paying no mind to the three teens in the small sitting room.

"Well, earlier when I walked in to change out of my bathing suit, Natsu… well, something happened and I'm not sure what. He started acting like he did when his father was around and not only that," he paused a little, not feeling at all comfortable with this situation at hand. He said the next part in a low mumble that only Lucy and Erza could hear, his eyes down casted to the floor. "he was crying. Full on crying. He was scared of something and I don't know what." Lucy and Erza looked very concerned at the news, Lucy's eyebrows furrowed and Erza pursing her lips tightly together.

"Do you think we should go check on him?" Erza asked softly, casting one worried look up the stairs as if expecting Natsu to be standing there looking down at them with tears running down his face and eyes looking like a small scared child. The thought didn't please her so she willed it away and shook her head as she turned her attention back on Lucy and Gray.

"Maybe we should? What if something happened and it concerns _Him _or something. There has to be a reasonable explanation for his behavior and it's better to find out now, then later like with the _Incident_." Just like how Lucy hated to recognize Natsu's father as his father, she referred to the incident with Natsu and his father's relationship when the cruel man was alive along with how her, Gray, and Erza found out about it as well, the "Incident".

"I'm a little hesitant about the idea." Gray mumbled. "I don't wanna push the guy, but I don't want him to bottle everything up like last time." He ran a hand up and down his face stressfully, taking in a large breath and letting it go. "Why does he have to be so difficult? I wish he can just be open about this sorta thing, but he's as talkative as a box." Erza nodded her head.

"That's the problem. He doesn't want to be seen as weak in front of us. He doesn't want us to view him as less than what he is, so when we bring up the subject, we have to be gentle about it in a way that makes him see that he's not weak about this at all." Erza said, the other two nodding thoughtfully in agreement, nothing else said as they silently agreed to now approach their friend who awaited them up the stairs in the Green Room that him and Gray were sharing.

Gray eased open the door and walked calmly through, Erza and Lucy following silently behind, Lucy being the last one to enter and closed the door behind her.

At the far bed Natsu laid on his stomach, the knitted blue and yellow blanket that was set at the end of his bed draped over his frame and over his head like a cowl of a cloak. In his hands was a small worn paperback book with the top and bottom edges creased away from carelessness and a few of the paper's edging turning brown.

Natsu calmly turned a page in his small little book, not paying mind to the three who stood awkwardly at the door. He did notice them the second he heard them step on the creaky floorboards at the top of the stairs he had taken notice of the past few times he has stepped on it today, and he decided that he wasn't going to take notice of them until one of them made a move, so he kept reading his book calmly, half aware of what he was reading and half aware of the three who didn't like the silence cloaking the room around them like a thick wool blanket, suffocating them and making them uncomfortably warm in the humid summer air.

Gray cleared his throat awkwardly, Natsu not paying him any mind again as he turned another page and began to read the large paragraph that greeted him. Again, Gray cleared his throat awkwardly, but Natsu did not look up.

"Sounds like quite the sore throat you got." he said lightly, still reading. He always liked how he could change his mood in front of others when he wanted, mostly to just mess with them and hoping that they took no notice in his earlier actions.

Gray blushed in embarrassment, ears and neck turning red as he glared half-heartedly at Natsu.

"We need to talk. All four of us." he told him seriously, Natsu never sparing them a glance from his book.

"Are we not doing so now? I am pretty sure the word 'talk' is equivalent to the human's way of communication, a flow of words from mouth to mouth, which I am positive is what is happening right now." he said evasively, starting to slightly annoy his friends.

"That's not what I mean Natsu—"

"It is not? So what do you mean by 'talk' if you do not mean the human's way of communication? Do you mean the saying 'We need to talk' were one goes to another to get them to breach a subject so desired by the former or do you mean something entirely different which will confuse me since you will not go further on the subject leaving me in a cloud of mystery and confusion. Please, Gray, when you speak be clearer about your intentions and that will make people understand them more fully, don't go the roundabout way of things. It's most unsightly of you." He turned a page and a vein almost burst in Gray's forehead as the annoyance grew, his fist clenched tightly at his side, the knuckles turning white and his teeth clenching tightly together giving him a slight headache.

"Natsu, this is serious." Lucy piqued up from where she stood near the door.

"I sure hope so, I mean my favorite character's older sister just died in front of him and you guys think this is a joke. His older sister was his only family and motivation. Now he's in a tunnel of depression and he doesn't know a way out. This is quite serious, thank you for the observation Lucy." He didn't glance up from the book, not even once.

Gray was about to burst from anger and annoyance.


	7. Chapter Seven- The Man By The Water

**Hiya! I wanted to make this longer than what it is, but I have been stuck on this chapter for a bit and didn't know what else to write so I tried my best and hopefully the next chapter will be longer than this! Sorry for being a bit late! Hope this makes up for it! Thanks for those who reviewed, favorite, and followed! Please leave a review and favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-let there be midnight**

**Me No Own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Chapter Seven—The Man By The Water **

_"Uncle…?" he whispered to himself, peering around the door frame to get a better look at the man who resembled Father so much but yet was also a bit taller than him. Both men looked at him and he cowered even further against the doorframe to get away from the looks that sent shivers up and down his spine and made a bad feeling bubble in his stomach._

"_Well, isn't it little Natsu? You're as cute as your father described you as."_

* * *

Natsu took a step out of the steamy bathroom with just boxers on, rubbing at his hair to dry it. It was around 11 at night and he had stepped in the shower around the time everyone else started closing their eyes. He had slept a little bit earlier and probably would've slept longer if it wasn't for a small memory that came and made him jerk awake. And now because of that memory Natsu doubted if he was going to be able to sleep at all that night.

The door to the bedroom he and Gray shared was cracked open so he didn't have to worry too much about the door creaking loudly and alerting the raven haired teen sleeping in the bed that was closest to it. He stepped inside and threw his damp towel towards his bed and went to his bag to grab a random pair of jeans, shirt, and his favorite orange hoodie. He grabbed his shoes once he was dressed along with his phone and exited the room once more after he turned off the light coming from the lamp on Gray's nightstand. Once his shoes were on, he exited the Scarlet's lake house, wanting to take a small little walk around the area.

Gravel crunched under his feet as he walked with his hands in his hoodie's pocket, and soon enough the lake house was far behind him and obscured by trees and night. He took a right into the forest and off the long drive way so the gravel underneath was replaced by grass, leaves, twigs, and other nature-y things.

He tried to think about anything to get his mind off of Uncle, and it was a hard task since he would always in the end, end up remembering about his short nightmare and the phone call earlier, and neither helped him in anyway at all, so he started humming a random tune that came to his head which for some reason had to be 'You are my Sunshine' because Mrs. Scarlet just happened to love that song and had it playing on the radio in the kitchen a lot.

Ten minutes later and some random turns, Natsu found himself walking out of the tree lines and facing the lake, which somewhat confused him on how he somehow managed to find it. Natsu was about to turn around since he already had had enough of water for a life time until a voice made him stop.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Natsu blinked and finally noticed a man who was maybe twenty sitting in the grass a few feet ahead of him wearing black clothes that made it hard for him to see. The man had his back turned towards him, but when he started to shift to get a look at Natsu, the pinkette finally noticed he hadn't answered him.

"T-the lake? Um… never actually looked at it." Natsu confessed sheepishly. The man smiled at him and patted the grass right beside him for Natsu to sit, his shocking red eyes shining dimly from the moonlight. Hesitantly, Natsu sat next to him and crossed his legs, looking out at the dark lake that glittered in the light casted by the moon and stars.

"Well, now is the best time to look at it." The man said as his eyes went back to gazing at the waters. Natsu hummed in responds, not really knowing what to say to the strange man.

Silence washed over them as they both watched the soft waves lapping at the shore and the ripples the glittering water made.

"I've always loved looking at the lake when I first saw it when I was a kid." the man beside him spoke quietly as he leaned back on his elbows. Natsu didn't bother looking at him, instead resigning to just listen to the other as the soft lapping of water relaxed him. "I would always sneak out and come here just to watch the lake for hours until the sun would come up and I would walk back home. It didn't bother me staying up all night just looking at the water, I loved to do so. I rarely missed a day. I especially made sure to come out here when my parents got into a nasty fight." the man confessed, Natsu finally turning his head to look at him with a slightly confused expression.

"Your parents fought?" he asked, the man nodding.

"All the time. There was no end to it. They'd bicker about everything from spilt sugar to mud on the floor, heck, they even fought about me. There was no escape to it, so I would always sneak out when they fought and come here. It's always silent here. There is no yelling, throwing, or cussing. It's just silent and peaceful, one of my favorite places in the world." he admitted before going silent for a few moments. He looked towards Natsu with a slight tilt of the head and curious expression. "What about you? You look pretty troubled yourself. And trust me, I know what it looks like." He gave a small laugh as he looked across the lake leaving Natsu to shuffle uncomfortably.

"Well, my parents didn't fight for one." Natsu said softly, the man humming as if to go on. "They never got the chance to." Natsu wondered why he was saying all this to a complete stranger, but he didn't stop, he didn't really want to. It was refreshing to kinda say this to someone he didn't know, especially his friends who tried to be the savors of the day all the time. But they couldn't. He knew they couldn't, but they did not. "My mom died when I was young so I barely remember her, and well… my dad… well, he wasn't the nicest person you could ever meet." he laughed bitterly just thinking about. "Well, if you weren't me, that is. There was a time where he did love me, I know, but that time died with my mom so I barely remember it. It didn't stop me from loving him, and I hated how I loved someone who could hurt me easily. It wasn't fair. I wanted to hate him, but I couldn't. He's my father, you know? If I even began to tell my friends this they'll try to convince me that I shouldn't love him, but what do they know? They never lived through what I did. They can't understand even if they walked to the ends of the earth and back. But they try, I know they do, but sometimes I wished they just didn't. They try too much." He exhaled softly, his stomach turning just thinking about it.

"It gets annoying sometimes, does it?" the man said with a knowing tone that Natsu felt himself nodding at.

"It does. It really does. But, things did get better. My dad was in a car accident during a business trip and died so I didn't have to worry about why I had to love him or why he had to hurt me. And I felt free and happy without being afraid until…" the words died softly on Natsu's lips as he grimaced and bit his bottom tongue.

"Until?" the man prompted gently, Natsu's shoulders relaxing some.

"Well, my dad had a brother that I met a few times and they were alike except his brother was more… keen on hurting. He didn't need grief to steer him in the direction like it did my father. It came natural to him, and well… he just called recently, today actually, and said that he's trying to get custody of me and it wouldn't be a hard thing to do. He's a lawyer, has a good reputation, and he's a relative. How could they say no to him? All they see is a good working man who wants to raise his dead brother's son, they're too blind to see that he's a face of lies." Natsu bit his lip as he drew his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them. It was silent for a few moments before the man spoke up.

"You know what I think?" he asked, turning his red gaze to look at Natsu who looked back at him with his own dark eyes.

"What?"

"I think you should stand up for yourself." Natsu furrowed his eyebrows together and sat a little straighter, looking at the man in befuddlement.

"Excuse me?" he asked a little taken aback. The man nodded.

"From what I've heard, you've never really stood up for yourself in your life. You've let yourself be your father's punching back, and you're going to let yourself be your uncle's too. You've probably only stood up for yourself to the wrong people, your friends." he told him.

"I still don't get what you're trying to tell me." The man laughed a little.

"Your uncle will only win custody of you if you let him, but if you refuse and tell them what you think is his real motives, they'll be a huge obstacle in his way of getting you, one he might not get over." he said, Natsu looking down towards the water with a thoughtful expression.

"I-I guess I could do that…" Natsu muttered to himself with a small nod, the man giving him a smile as he stood up and brushed off the dirt from his pants. Down east of them, the sun was rising, confusing Natsu because he could've sworn he was only gone for an hour at most.

"Well, it's my time to go, see you." The man gave a small salute as Natsu looked up towards him.

"Wait! I never got your name!" Natsu shouted, halting him in his movements as he looked down at the pinkette with sparkling red eyes.

"My name's Zeref." he said, Natsu giving him a small smile.

"Mine's Natsu." Natsu replied, looking towards the lake once more. "I want to thank you, Zere—" When he looked back, Zeref was no longer there as if he never existed.


	8. Chapter Eight- Marker by a Tree

**Hiya! I'M SO SORRY! I know it has been a long time! I had a writer's block on another story and of course that effected every other story! Sorry! So I hope this is good enough, thought I'll mix in some mystery and all that. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for those who reviewed, favorite, and followed! Please leave a review and favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-let there be midnight**

**Me No Own Fairy Tail**

* * *

**Chapter Eight—Marker at a Tree **

The house was still dark when Natsu got back, so he silently crept up the stairs and to the bedroom he and Gray were sharing at the moment. The door was still creaked open from how he left it hours earlier so he quickly slipped through the crack without having the door move. Gray was spread out on his bed on his back with both arms and one leg hanging off the side, his other leg bent and looked like it was going to slip off the bed at any moment. His blanket had somehow torn itself from the bed and barely hung on him, mostly pooling on the floor as he snored softly, mouth wide open and a line of drool trailing down his cheek and wetting the pillow beneath him.

Natsu tiptoed past him silently, making it to his side of the room without waking his raven friend. He stripped himself down to just his boxers and hoodie and laid down on his bed underneath the warmth of the blankets and fell asleep.

Hours later he felt someone gently shaking his shoulders to wake him up, but Natsu wasn't all that ready to be awake since his late night talk with that strange guy named Zeref, so he just rolled on over to his side, pulling the blanket over his head with a grunt. The person who was trying to wake him up let out an annoyed sigh, took an edge of the blanket and tore it from his grasp, the force of the pull sending Natsu toppling to the ground with a thud.

"Care to wake up now?" Gray asked, looking down at him. Natsu blinked open a bleary eye to glare up at his raven haired friend, taking the sheets from him and curling back up on the floor, closing his eyes.

"No." he said, earning yet another loud annoyed sigh from Gray.

"Don't make me get Erza."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I dare." Natsu grumbled as he glared at Gray one last time and finally sat up, his blanket falling onto his lap. Gray smirked in triumph, turning around and starting to leave. "Breakfast is downstairs so hurry up and get dress so you can eat." He called over his shoulder as he left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Natsu had a sudden urge to flip off the door since it was the last thing Gray touched, but restrained himself from doing so as his phone starting ringing, buzzing crazily on his nightstand. Without looking to see who the caller ID was, he snatched it up and answered.

"Yes?" he snapped, feeling too cranky to care who was on the other side.

"_Now, that's no way to great your dear uncle, now is it?" _Natsu's blood ran cold, suddenly more awake then he was a second ago. Natsu didn't dare reply. _"Oh, come on, I know you're there." _

"Why're you calling me?" Natsu asked quietly, eyes fixated to the bottom of Gray's bed, fist clenching his phone.

"_Can I not talk to my only nephew?" _he asked. Natsu stayed silent, squeezing his eyes shut and hoping that Uncle would just hang up and leave him alone. He hoped Uncle would just up and leave, go to the end of the world and stand on the edge and just jump. He wanted Uncle gone, out of his life, and to never exist in front of him. He wanted to wipe his memory of Uncle, to never remember that the man even breathed the same air as him. Natsu even wished that he himself didn't exist so he didn't have to be near Uncle or having to witness Father's wrath for basically his whole life. He wished, he willed, and he wanted, but none of that came. And none of that was granted.

"_Is it a sin to speak to your only living relative?" _Uncle asked, coldly.

"I have cousins and another uncle on my mom's side. There's even Auntie Esther, your younger sister." Natsu replied in a hoarse whisper. Uncle laughed a cruel laugh that reminded Natsu eerily of Father.

Father didn't die that night many months ago, Natsu realized. He lived along in Uncle Brian, his older brother that was just like his best friend. Father wasn't dead, he just moved to Uncle, and that was something that terrified Natsu the most, making his throat constrict and a stinging sensation come to his eyes as tears started to well up in them, but he would never let them fall.

"_They don't matter and Esther is dead to me. Miss little goodie-too-shoes, she is." _Uncle spat. Natsu shivered at the tone of his voice, shoulders hunching high and up to his ears, unconsciously drawing his legs closer to his chest to make himself seem smaller than he was.

Maybe if I was a bug, any bug, I could crawl under the bed and into the floor boards so no one will find me and no one will care. I could live my life peacefully as a bug. Bugs have it easy when humans aren't trying to kill them and other animals aren't trying to eat them, Natsu couldn't help but think.

Scratch that. Natsu wanted to be a bird. If he was a bird he could fly. He could fly so far that no one could ever catch up. He could fly until his pains and sorrows were gone. He could forget everything and just fly to the horizon. He would fly till he got tired, until he was dropping out of the sky, only then he would stop because he would be too tired to dream, where memories would spring up. Then he'll do it the next day, then the next, and each day he would fly himself into exhaustion so even his mind was too tired to dream. Soon he would forget everything. His friends. His family. Father and Uncle. All he would know himself to be would be a bird with the sole purpose of flying.

But no. Natsu was born human and for that he was to suffer the consequences for that. Be human, face the torment of others. As a human Natsu didn't have a luxury of wings, he had the misfortune of arms and legs that only allowed himself to cower and make himself smaller. They couldn't carry his weight, they couldn't run him away. They were his weight, his one thousand million pound weights that would do nothing but stay and cower. Wings were flawless and powerful. Full of freedom. Arms and legs were chains and weights. Full of weakness.

"_That's rude, not saying a thing to your poor little uncle? Hasn't your mother ever taught you better?" _She's dead. You know she's dead. She's dead dead dead. There is not bringing her back. There is no crying over her. She has been cold dead, rotting in a wooden casket twelve years. Dead dead dead. Uncle knew this, Uncle knew she's been dead. He was taunting Natsu. Natsu knew this since that was Uncle's favorite game to play, favorite song to sing. He love mockery even if it was to his nephew. He loved it so he sang the song every time he talked to him.

Natsu said nothing.

Just forget, Natsu. Just forget and it won't matter.

The door to the room opened and Lucy peeked around the corner, surprising Natsu enough so he dropped his phone and loosened from his tight position so he looked like he was about to stand up. He stared wide-eyed at Lucy who blinked before shaking her head.

"What's taking you so long?" she asked, stepping into the room. Hurriedly, Natsu ended the call with Uncle so she didn't see who he was talking to. "You're not even ready." she commented, watching as Natsu scrambled up on his feet and pulled out a random tee-shirt with some cartoon printed on it and shorts.

"Yeah, sorry about that, got a little side-tracked." he smiled sheepishly at her as he changed his shirt quickly, along with his shorts, not caring if Lucy saw his boxers since she often woke him up in the morning and was now used to seeing the red material.

"You were on the phone." she said, looking at the phone that had been discarded carelessly on the floor, a wrinkle forming in-between her eyebrows. Natsu smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head in the nervous habit he had.

"Yeah, um, Sting called. I haven't talked to him since a few months ago. Wanted to know how I was doing, you know, stuff like that." She eyed him critically before she took a step back.

"Breakfast is getting cold, you better hurry before Gray and Erza eat it all." she told him, her brown eyes trying dig out answers from his dark ones. Natsu nodded, walking past her and pausing just a step out the door.

"Thanks for getting me! I probably would've missed breakfast talking with Sting! A lot to catch up on, meaningless banter, you know the drill." Before Lucy could ask any more questions, Natsu had disappeared and she listened as his feet thumped down the wooden stair steps and his muffled greeting to the others downstairs.

Slowly, Lucy glanced towards the phone Natsu had forgotten and picked it up. She knew the password easily, having memorized it from glancing over his shoulder every know-n-then, not like the pinkette knew or anything.

She unlocked his phone and quickly went to the recent calls to see an unknown number at the top of the list, the one he had just hung up on. She scrolled down and saw that Sting had called him two weeks prior.

"Liar." she whispered as she scrolled back up to the top. She took out her own phone and typed down the number along with Sting's before she exited out and turned it back off, setting it back where it was discarded. "I know when something is up with you, idiot. And I'm not going to stop until I get to the bottom of this." Lucy promised. She put her phone back in her pocket and walked back downstairs, pretending that nothing had happened.

* * *

"Who said hiking was fun?" Gray complained. Natsu was right beside him thinking the same thoughts as they lagged a few feet behind the group. Mr. Scarlet turned around and grinned brightly at them, adjusting the brim of his hat just slightly.

"Hiking clears the mind and soul!" he said cheerfully, both Mrs. Scarlet and Erza nodding in agreement.

"So stop your complaining, boys." Mrs. Scarlet chided. "It's time to get the winter laziness garbage out of you and replace it with the summer's fresh air of activeness!" Gray and Natsu both moaned in reply, making Mr. and Mrs. Scarlet laugh out in amusement as they turned back around to have a meaningless banter with the other.

"Come on guys, we haven't even been hiking for ten minutes!" Lucy said. Natsu gave her a half-hearted glare, dragging his feet in the dirt.

"Ten minutes too long." he mumbled unhappily. "One minutes is way too long, to be honest." he added, Gray nodding in agreement.

"I rather like being lazy." Gray stated. "You don't do anything. You sleep. You eat. You watch TV. Maybe throw a book in there. It's great." Lucy and Erza rolled their eyes at them and both muttered "Boys!" under their breath.

"If your good enough, maybe we'll go buy some pizza~!" Mrs. Scarlet sang from the front, swinging her arms by her side happily. Both Gray and Natsu perked up at this, smiling wide.

"Suddenly hiking doesn't seem so bad!" they both shouted at the same time, earning laughs from the Scarlet's and Lucy.

As they hiked along the trail, Natsu suddenly noticed a marker, a wooden cross with a black bow tied to the middle of it, right beneath a large pine tree.

"What's that?" he asked, stopping and pointing towards it. Mr. Scarlet stopped and also looked, reorganization shining in his eyes.

"Oh, that? Some kid died here around ten years ago. What was his name?" he looked to Mrs. Scarlet who had stopped right alongside him.

"I believe it was Zeref. Nancy said he had committed suicide. Awfully depressed, she said. Apparently his parents argued a lot and that got to him, so he hung himself right there. A pair of sisters found him in the morning just hanging. It's sad, a young life cut so short." She shook her head sadly. "I can't image ever doing such a thing, especially when I was young." Everyone glanced at the marker one last time before moving on.

Natsu stood there, staring at the grave in shock. Zeref? The kid he just saw last night was dead? How was that possible? He apparently has been dead for ten years, too. How could he be the same person he had just had a conversation with the night before?

"Natsu?" Erza called back, being the first to notice that he had yet to move. Natsu shook his head, clearing his thoughts as he threw them a quick apology and ran to catch up.

No, it was probably a coincident. It was impossible to be dead for ten years and suddenly pop up and have a conversation like none of it mattered.

At least, Natsu sure hoped so.


End file.
